


A Birthday Wish

by brodystein



Category: Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye
Genre: Birthday, Fluff, M/M, References to Depression, could possibly be interpreted as suicidal thoughts/ideation, it's an It's A Wonderful Life kind of thing but I tried to keep it as light as possible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:14:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23599681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brodystein/pseuds/brodystein
Summary: When Marvin tells him to make a wish, all Chase can think is that he wishes he knew how he was going to survive another year. Luckily, Marvin can make wishes come true.
Relationships: Chase Brody/Henrik von Schneeplestein, Schneeplebro
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	A Birthday Wish

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday to my favorite boy!!!!

Chase couldn’t bring himself to answer the text message. He read it again though eyes full of tears. ‘I’m not letting you spend your birthday alone. You don’t have to get dressed or even get out of bed but I’m coming over first thing tomorrow morning.’ Henrik was sweet, and there were only two people in the world Chase would rather be with - his kids. But he couldn’t see his kids, he’d asked and Stacy had point-blank said no, that they’d be busy. So now he was a mess, and definitely not in the mood for company, even from his best friend. Especially since he was sort of in love with that best friend, and didn’t want him to see how broken he was.

He didn’t want to get up, or even roll into a more comfortable position. He just wanted to succumb to sleep, to not have to think anymore, which made it all the more annoying when his phone buzzed again. This time, it was Marvin, and a glance at the clock told Chase he’d gone out of his way to text him at midnight exactly. Chase knew he should reply, that he didn’t deserve to wallow in his own misery while his friends tried to be there for him, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. He read Marvin’s text. ‘Happy Birthday! Make a wish!’

He closed his eyes, falling asleep to the bitter thought, ‘I wish I knew how I’m supposed to make it through another year of this.’

He woke to sunlight on his face. The first thing he noticed was that he felt better than he usually did in the morning; no throbbing headache or lingering exhaustion. He felt rested. Then he opened his eyes and noticed something much more startling: this wasn’t his bed. This was Henrik’s room. How and when did he get here? Had he passed out? Even if he had, why would Henrik bring him here instead of putting him in his own bed?

The door creaked open a little, and Henrik’s youngest son peeked in. When he saw that Chase was awake, he burst in with a “happy birthday!” He didn’t seem surprised to see Chase, oddly.

“Thank you, sweetie! Do you know where your dad is?”

“Making breakfast. I think he’s almost done.”

Ok, waking up in a completely different place was one thing, but Henrik cooking? He realized, a little sadly, that this was probably a dream, no matter how much he wanted it to be real when Henrik appeared in the doorway with a tray and gave him a soft smile. “Breakfast in bed for the birthday boy! Don’t worry - I stuck to waffles. My one and only specialty.” He set it down in front of Chase. “The kids aren’t here yet, but they’re on their way. You eat up now, and I’ll put some aside in case they’re hungry when they get here.”

“Wait - Alexis and Noah are coming?”

Henrik looked concerned. “Of course they are coming. Jackie and Marvin picked them up on their way over. Are you alright, Schatz? You seem a little out of it. You’re not going senile on me already, are you? You’ve still got another whole year to be the young one before you join me in the thirties.”

Ok, Chase knew he was a mess, but he was sure this was his twenty-eighth birthday. This really must be a weird dream, unless… That stupid wish. Had Marvin done some weird magician shit to make sure whatever it was came true? Had he actually gone forward a whole year?

Henrik was lifting Lukas off the bed. “You go eat. There are plates for you and your brothers on the table.” Meanwhile, an alarm went off on Chase’s phone - that was strange. You didn’t usually hear an alarm in a dream, unless it was your real alarm and you were about to wake up. He waited, but all that happened was Henrik grabbing a bottle of pills from the nightstand and handing it to him. Chase looked at the label. They were his antidepressants, and apparently, he’d picked up this refill on March 28, 2021. Well Shit. This really was the future. And it seemed like a pretty good one. 

He took one of the pills, then pouted at Henrik as if to say, ‘there, see?’ Henrik laughed, leaned down, and kissed him on the lips. 

Oh. So apparently this was a really good future. Alright.

Henrik flopped down next to him on the bed. “If you don’t eat these waffles, I will.” He picked up the fork and helped himself to a bite, then took advantage of Chase’s laughter to feed him the next one.

“Mmm. That’s so good. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. Are you excited for today? Jackie, Marvin, and the kids are on their way. Jamie should get here around one. And, you know, Anti just shows up whenever he wants. Should be a pretty fun day. Much more fun than last year, if not as… eventful.” He laughed and rested his head on Chase’s shoulder. “Can you believe that was only a year ago? You remember that day?” He turned to kiss his neck.

“Yeah,” he lied. “But I like when you tell it.”

“You like when I tell it because you know my version is the truth. I went to your place, you didn't answer the door, which I expected, so I let myself in with the key you gave me, but when I tried to go check on you, I couldn’t get into your room because you had gotten up and were standing against the door to keep me out. You screamed at me to leave, I forced the door open - out of concern for your well-being, I might add - but you kept trying to push me away until we wrestled each other to the floor. And I don’t care what you say, Chase, I know you bit me at some point. I have three kids, I know what it feels like when a brat having a tantrum bites you, so don’t give me that ‘you must have fallen on the corner of the bed frame’ bullshit. But at some point, we just started laughing.”

Chase smiled. He moved the tray aside even though his plate wasn’t empty and collapsed back down onto the pillows, rolling even closer to Henrik so they were pressed together, foreheads touching.

“I’m not even sure what was so funny,” Henrik said. “I guess we both realized we were being idiots. I’d come over because I wanted to make sure you had a nice birthday, and there I was pinning you to the floor and screaming that you were a stupid, stubborn son of a bitch. And you’d gotten out of bed to fight with me because you wanted to stay in bed. But we were laughing, and then I said sorry, then you said sorry… and I don’t remember who kissed who. Do you?”

He shook his head, their noses rubbing against each other. “But I love that story.”

“Mmm. I know you say our anniversary is the day of our first proper date, but maybe tonight after everyone leaves and the kids are in bed I pin you to the floor… for old times’ sake.”

“Well, maybe for old times’ sake, I’ll bite ya.”

“So you finally admit it!” They laughed, and Chase couldn’t get over how natural this seemed. Now that the initial shock was over, it just seemed so… right and easy. He kissed Henrik again, just because he could and he couldn’t believe that he could.

“I should go make sure the kids aren’t destroying the kitchen. Enjoy the rest of your meal.”

As soon as he was alone, Chase started looking around. He noticed the nightstand next to him didn’t just have his pills on it, but also his phone, his favorite mug, and his hat. When he crept over to check the closet, he found his own clothes hanging there. Did he live here? When had he moved in?

Honestly, the longer he was here, the more questions he had. Henrik had told him about one day, but what about the other 364 that he’d missed? He looked through his phone, found pictures he didn’t remember of him, Henrik, and the kids, all smiles. He got dressed and realized he must’ve gained back some of the weight he’d lost after his divorce; he looked healthier.

He heard the front door open, and the sound of talking. He hurried out of his room and down the stairs, only to freeze when he actually saw Lexi and Noah standing in the doorway. They ran to hug him, wishing him happy birthday, and Chase squeezed them tight, not ever wanting to let them go. They were a little taller than he was used to them being, but their perfect laughs were still the same. He clung on until the kids let go, then got up to hug Jackie. Marvin had his hands full with a huge cake and nodded for Chase to follow him into the kitchen so he could set it on the table before opening his arms for a hug.

“Are you ready to go back?” he whispered into his ear.

Chase pulled away, incredulous. Go back?! Go back to his lonely apartment and empty life? And just when the kids had gotten here? “I want to stay.”

Marvin just smiled at him. “Do you?”

He paused. A part of him still wanted to say ‘yes,’ but he also thought about how much he’d missed in the year he seemed to have skipped. He thought about how he’d noticed that Alexis was missing two of her teeth when she smiled, and how he wouldn’t remember being around when it happened. He thought about Henrik mentioning their first date, and how he didn’t know when it was or where they’d gone or how it felt. He couldn’t remember moving into this house, or any of the times he’d kissed Henrik good morning or goodnight, or seeing the kids’ classrooms on open house night, or taking them to the beach over the summer, or their birthdays.

“Okay.” He swallowed. “Okay. I’m ready.”

Marvin put his hands on Chase’s shoulders. “Close your eyes.”

He did, only to be startled almost immediately by a loud banging noise. His eyes popped open again, only to see he was back in his own bed, the banging sound resonating from just outside his apartment. Had it all been a dream after all?

“Chase?”

He realized the banging noise had been Henrik knocking at his front door, and that he was letting himself in, just like the story he’d told him. He heard footsteps coming towards his room and got out of bed. Maybe if he had gone to the future it was like all those movies where he shouldn’t change the course of time. But when Henrik knocked and said “I’m coming in,” Chase couldn’t resist yanking the door open and throwing himself into his arms, up on his tiptoes so he could wrap his arms around Henrik’s shoulders and hide his face in his neck.

Henrik stumbled but wrapped his arms around Chase. “Hey, hey! Is alright. You’re alright. What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong.” His voice was muffled by Henrik’s soft shirt. “I’m just happy to see you.

He squeezed Chase tighter and rubbed his back. “I’m happy to see you, too. Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.” He sniffled, pulled away a bit, and stretched up further to peck Henrik gently on the lips, smiling when Henrik laughed a little in surprise. “Do you wanna watch a movie or something?”

“Sure. It’s your birthday, we can do whatever you want.”

He smiled as they walked over to the couch and grabbed the remote. “Honestly,” he said, cuddling up against Henrik, “I’m just glad I’m here.”


End file.
